hr: Money

The move by the Government to Distribute the Tax rebates two weeks earlier than usual, is an attempt to get the economy back on track. The question is, how much is it going to help.

Photo Credit: failquail

Economists are of the opinion, that the damage just might have been done already, and that the rebates are just a quick fix, that will not achieve any lasting purpose. They point to figures which indicat that 232,000 jobs have already been lost, causing the unemployment figure to reach 5.1%. The economic reports that are due in April, are expected to show that another 80,000 jobs will be lost this month.

In addition, they speak of retailers reporting low sales, and Automobile sales, which of course were the first to be hit by the recession, going down by 8%. The last measure, is the rising price of basic commodities, and fuel. They feel that the extra money will only help Americans to purchase what they have already been purchasing at higher prices. In other words, it won’t give the boost to spending that the government was hoping.

Nonetheless, Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research feels that officially, the US will avoid a recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research doesn’t recognize a recession until six months have passed since it began.